


The Diwata In The Forest

by imaderice



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:14:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24474838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imaderice/pseuds/imaderice
Summary: Ruby offends a diwata, a fairy that lives in the forest.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee, belladonna - Relationship
Comments: 5
Kudos: 78





	The Diwata In The Forest

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this on my phone so if there's any mistakes sorry lololol

Ruby was late, she had lost track of time at the library with Penny to make her new dungeons and dragons character. It was nearly eight when she left and now it was close to nine in the evening. It was bad enough that she had missed the bus and had to wait for the next one, but seeing a construction sign on her usual street she passed through just made things worse. 

It was the shortest and safest way back to her home and now she had to go around to a different route which would take significantly longer. Her sister had not messaged her yet, meaning that she wasn't home yet. Ruby jogged in place and made a distressed noise in the back of her throat, hopping from one foot to the other as she clutched the straps of her backpack. There was another way to get home sooner, it was just, she hadn't gone through it at night.

The thing is, Ruby's family is very superstitious. Her dad, with mixed Asian descent had been ingrained in his mind the teachings of their ancestors. He grew up believing them and that was how he raised Ruby and her sister. 

It was their choice to believe him though, he couldn't force them to, it wasn't what he wanted from them. All he could do was warn them of the dangers, to be cautious of what was beyond their level of understanding. Ruby knew her sister didn't believe them as a child, rolling her eyes at their dad whenever he would warn them about playing in the mangrove forest. 

Then one day, when she had dragged Ruby deeper into the forest. Ruby didn't remember much of what happened, all she knew that she had tripped and hit her head. Their uncle had found them and took them home. 

Ruby couldn't remember the exact details of what had happened, but she knew both of them had gotten hurt. Yang's right arm had somehow gotten burned from ice that left scars and nerve damage. She was still able to use her arm, but she can barely feel anything on it anymore. Ruby wasn't free from injury either, having the same burn from her right jaw up to her ear. Although it did leave a scar, but it wasn't as bad as what happened to Yang.

It was from that day on that her sister finally believed their dad and took his warnings to heart that even Ruby started believing them too. 

So now Ruby stood at the edge of the mangrove forest, biting her lower lip. She grew up playing here, with her sister and her friends. She should know it like the back of her hand, but it looked like a whole new different pace at night. What was on The biting chill of the coldest time of the year had her shivering. 

Ruby took a deep calming breath, to try and calm her nerves and pulled out her phone. The light was small but it was enough for her to navigate through. The roots that she jumped over as a child now seemed like dark tendrils that threatened to wrap around her legs and drag her deeper into the forest. Ruby jumped whenever a branch from her peripheral vision would move due to the wind, thinking it was something else. 

Her footsteps quickened as she tightened her jacket around her. Muttering under her breath the words to respect the spirits of the mangrove so as to not anger them. It was the only comfort she could afford as she waded through the mangrove. 

"Tabi tabi po" Ruby said, stepping over a large root of a tree. 

She was almost home, which brought Ruby relief. She can make out the lights of her home from afar. Granted it was still far but it gave her comfort knowing she was so close. Ruby wondered why her dad wanted to live so far out from the city proper near the forest, so close to the dangers that he warned them of.

The stories he told them; of the Tikbalang, a half man half horse demon. It has a horse's head and the body of a human but with the feet of a horse. They prey on young women to impregnate them and make more of their kind. That had given Ruby so many nightmares as a young ten year old.

Another was the Kapre, a filthy giant that smoked rolls of cigars and hides within and atop of trees. They scare away children from playing in the forest at night and if one found themselves going around in circles then a Kapre was messing with them. The only way to escape it's control was to take off all their clothes and wear them inside out. Ruby didn't feel like stripping naked in the mangrove forest and hoped that the creatures of old would have pity on her or ignore her for most parts.

_ "Don't let yourself fear them," _ She suddenly remembered him saying. " _ Be wary, cautious of them, respect them, but do not fear them." _

The sound of wings flapping brought her out of her thoughts. She turned to face where the sound came from, shining her flashlight up at the trees. At first there was nothing, but Ruby can't let her guard down. 

She remembers her dad telling them of a Wakwak, winged humans with long sharp talons used to rip out your hearts and bat like wings. They make a sound by flapping its wings when flying, a sound that meant they were looking for victims. If the sound is loud then they're very far from you, if not they are near you and ready to attack.

She can feel her heart pounding against her chest and up to her neck, her body trembling from not only the cold but fear. Ruby can feel herself shaking to the bone. With one last sweep of her phone's flashlight, two large bright eyes stared back at her. 

Ruby stumbled back with a cry, losing her footing on the roots of a large tree. She scrambled for her phone, which had fallen from her grasp and pointed it up at the branches as she crawled back against the tree behind her. Her breaths came in short and fast. 

The owl hoots back at her. Preening its black and white feathers. It took Ruby awhile for her to get her breathing under control and the trembling of her hands to stop. It hoots at her again before taking off into the night. 

"Yawa," Ruby cursed under her breath, her voice shaking. "Shit, this was a bad idea. Fuck." 

Ruby stood up on shaking legs, using the tree beside her for balance. She pressed her forehead against the rough bark, she glanced down at her phone and saw it was nearly nine thirty. With another shaky breath, she tightened the straps of her backpack and made a run for it. 

Ruby arrived home minutes before Yang, her sister, got home from her job. 

-x-

It started with Ruby losing her keys to their home and waiting outside their home in the cold until Yang arrived. The second was coming home drenched from the rain as she apparently failed to put her collapsible umbrella in her bag, despite not even taking it out. For weeks it was like Ruby was a beacon of bad luck, her sister joked that she got it from their uncle.

"They're not even blood related," Blake commented at the dinner table once their uncle left.

Blake was Yang's girlfriend of seven years and had just moved into their home days before. She had dark chin length hair with two cat ears on top of her head and bright amber eyes that almost looked like gold. 

"Rubbed off on her, probably," Yang shrugged, brushing a lock of blonde hair behind her ear. "Cheer up, sis. I'm sure it'll just pass." 

Ruby pouted, her shoulders slumped. At first she wasn't bothered, she was a very optimistic person and didn't let a bad day get to her, but slowly it's starting to affect her studies and even the people close to her. She wasn't a very punctual person to begin with, but she was starting to get reprimanded by her professors of her tardiness. Every time there was a quiz her pens were either missing or out of ink. Her assignments were either lost or the professors did not receive her submissions. She visited her favorite bakeshop and they ran out of her favorite cookies, three times in a row!

"Why is this happening?" Ruby whined, stabbing a piece of meat with her fork or rather, tried to. 

The brown sauce from her meal and coincidentally she had one of the harder meat that her fork was unable to pierce it full and caused it to fly off her plate. Ruby caught it before it could stain the table cloth, however, she had spilled her glass of water. 

Ruby almost cried right then and there. 

"I shouldn't have gone through the mangrove that night," Ruby pushed her plate away, banging her head against the table. 

Yang and Blake looked at each other, slightly perplexed by the statement. 

"What do you mean?," Blake asked, her ears stood up straight in attention. 

Ruby let out a frustrated sigh, looking up at the two women before her. They didn't know she went through that mangrove forest that night. She had thought she had gotten away with it, but now that she had these bad things happening to her and slowly it had started affecting those around her. 

"Weeks ago-" Ruby started, burying her head in her arms. "-I lost track of time with Penny at the library. It was late, Nuñez Street was getting the road fixed and I didn't want to get caught by Yang so I went through the forest." 

"Ruby!" Yang's eyes widened, brows furrowed in anger. "You could have gotten hurt! Or worse, dead!" 

"I know!" Ruby whined. She sat up, leaning back on her chair. "I made sure I didn't do anything dumb and went straight home." 

"Ruby, if you offended a diwata I swear to fucking god." Yang pinched the bridge of her nose. "It's the only reason why this is happening." 

Blake looked just as worried and bothered as the sisters were. Her ears turned sideways on her head. The three of them were childhood friends and their families shared the same beliefs as they did, although theirs had different names and customs. 

It was later explained to them by their parents that all cultures had the same concept of mythology. Those that did not have a name in others just meant that it was native to their area. 

"I did the 'tabi tabi po' like dad told us!" Ruby cried.

"Tell us exactly what happened," Blake said, leaning forward slightly. 

Ruby told them from the beginning, from stepping into the mangrove and excusing herself from the spirits as she passed through. She told them she thought there was a Wakwak when it was just an owl that had made the noise and spooked her. Then she ran home, as fast as her legs could carry her. 

"Ruby," Yang breathed. Worry evident on her features.

"What?" 

"Did you say tabi tabi po when you had gotten close to that tree?" 

"Yeah," 

… 

"I did though!" 

… 

"At least I think I did," 

Yang rubbed her face with her hands. At this point Ruby wished that a Kapre had messed with her and had her going in circles. Stripping naked in the forest just to wear it back on inside out was better than weeks of misfortune. 

"At least it's not as spiteful as most diwatas are," Blake said, offering some sort of a silver lining. 

-x- 

The next time Ruby had a day off from school she had went to the mangrove early in the morning with Yang and Blake, both calling their bosses claiming that they were unable to go in due to a family crisis. 

They helped Ruby re-traced her steps, trying to locate the tree where the diwata might have resided in. Not all trees had a being living in them, especially small ones, but when passing by a particularly big one they needed to politely excuse themselves. Ruby had tripped over several roots when they had found what they assumed was the tree the diwata lived in. The clues they had to go on were that the tree was the biggest one near their home. 

It was several feet tall, branches in all directions. Ruby looked up at it, one hand over her eyes to block out the sun.

"Ayo!" Yang yelled, hands around her mouth to make her voice louder. It had made Blake and Ruby jump. 

"Jesus  _ Christ _ ," Blake had a hand over her heart, ears pinned back against her head. "Yang!" 

Yang had the decency to at least look sheepish. They looked up at the tree, waiting. As seconds passed and nothing happened.

"It might not be it," Ruby sighed, crouching down with her head lowered. "I'm gonna live the rest of my life cursed." 

"C'mon, Rubes," Yang crouched down beside her, placing a comforting hand on her back. "Don't give up yet, maybe it was a different tree." 

"Yeah, it kinda does look a bit flimsy," 

" _ Excuse me? _ " A shrill voice pierced that air. All three looked up at the tree to see a fair skinned woman standing on a branch with her hands on her hips, barefoot and wearing a white dress. Her hair was as white as snow, tied in a high off center ponytail and her eyes were a magnificent color of blue. "I'll have you know I've taken great care of this tree for years!" 

The being jumped down from her perch, eyes narrowed down at Yang and Ruby. Yang was the first to react, standing up and stepped in front of Ruby. With Yang now standing tall, the diwata was shorter than the blonde.

"Oh no, not you again!" Both Yang and the diwata exclaimed, stomping their feet. 

"You know each other?" Blake asked, looking like she was ready to run. 

"Yeah, she tried to hurt Ruby when we were kids!" Yang pointed an accusing finger at her then lifted up her scarred arm. "She fucked up my arm too!" 

"It wasn't  _ my _ fault that you two trespassed on our turf!" The diwata crossed her arms.

"What are you even doing here?" Yang snarled, pointing to a certain direction of the mangrove. "You live miles from here. Why the hell are you so close to the city?" 

At that the diwata's face faltered, it was only for a moment before she hardened her features and clenched her teeth. But it was a moment too long and all three had noticed the way her eyes looked sad, pained even. Blake reached out to hold Yang's hand, the other placed on her arm, in hopes that it would calm her down. 

"Hey, I'm sorry," Ruby said, stepping forward. "I-We didn't mean to cause any trouble. I just wanted to come and apologize for what happened weeks ago." 

The diwata continued to glare at them with a deep scowl. Ruby's eyes landed on the scar over her left eye and she noticed how the diwata seemed to have tilted her head in a way so that her bangs covered her scar slightly. 

"Ah yes, the dolt who disturbed my sleep with her screaming," The diwata said with a huff. 

"Yes, um, that," Ruby rubbed the back of her neck and glanced at Yang for help. Her sister only shrugged her shoulders. "I'm the dolt." 

"My name's Ruby, Ruby Rose," Ruby held out her hand with a nervous smile. "I'm sorry that I had disturbed you that night and I'll do anything in my capacity to make it up to you." 

The diwata looked down at the extended hand as if it had offended her. Ruby felt awkward with her hand held out for so long and was about to pull it back. She wouldn't have called it a handshake, or even a proper one at that, but the diwata had Ruby's hand between two fingers. It was better than nothing.

"Weiss," She said, letting go of Ruby's hand immediately. She turned her back on them. "No need to do anything else, you apologized and that's it. I'll undo the curse, so you can all just go and leave me  _ alone _ ." 

The way Weiss had said those words had rubbed Ruby in a wrong way and glanced back at Yang and Blake. Her sister, who had been frowning at Weiss this whole time, gave out a deep sigh. Her lilac eyes softened as she looked at Weiss.

"Is it alright if I come to visit you?" Ruby asked. 

Weiss paused in her step, she looked back at Ruby from the corner of her eyes. "No." 

She didn't wait for any response to be said and jumped up onto the tree, disappearing into the branches. 

Yang, who seemed satisfied that everything had been settled, started making her way back home, suggesting that they stay in and spend the day watching movies together. Blake followed behind her. 

Ruby stayed where she stood, looking up to where Weiss had disappeared to. She can hear Yang and Blake's voices growing farther and farther and when she could barely hear them anymore she saw a glimpse of white hair and blue eyes looking down at her. She smiled up at Weiss and waved her hand at her.

Weiss ducked under her hiding spot when she realized that Ruby was still there. 

"Ruby, c'mon!" Yang called out. 

That was her cue to leave, jogging towards where Yang and Blake had gone. When she looked back, she saw Weiss standing on a branch, watching her go. 

The next day Ruby went to visit Weiss. Much to the diwata's dismay, but deep down Ruby knew she had appreciated it. 


End file.
